So called waterless urinals are becoming more widely used because of costs savings attributed to conversation of water. These waterless urinals are not flushed with water each time a person uses the urinal. As the waterless urinal is repeatedly used, urine is collected in a compartment of the urinal. An oily sealing liquid that is immiscible with the urine and is lighter than the urine covers the collected urine. This oily sealing liquid floats on the surface of the urine, serving as a barrier that prevents odors from the urinal escaping to the environment. Typically, such waterless urinals include a removable cartridge having a top with an opening therein in communication with the compartment holding an initial water charge that mixes with urine flowing into the compartment through the opening. A stand pipe type drain is in communication with the compartment that allows the compartment to be drained continually to a sewer or other waste disposal system as the compartment is filled with urine. U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,037 is illustrative of a typical waterless urinal.
It has been proposed that a biocide be added to the sealing liquid to kill bacteria. One such biocide is an aromatic halogen compound, for example, a chloro-phenol compound, in particular 4-chloro-3-methylphenol. The 4-chloro-3-methylphenol is especially desirable because it kills a broad spectrum of bacteria. The problem with using this biocide is that, when combined the straight, that is linear, aliphatic alcohols commonly used as the sealing liquid, a very foul odor occurs that is not easily masked with a fragrance. This problem is especially acute when the 4-chloro-3-methylphenol is added to decanol, one of the most widely used sealing liquids.
This invention overcomes this odor problem and has several features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed by the claims that follow, its more prominent features will now be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled, xe2x80x9cDETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS,xe2x80x9d one will understand how the features of this invention provide its benefits, which include, but are not limited to, providing a sealing liquid having the following characteristics:
(1) It is odorless, or at least be capable of having an unpleasant odor masked with a fragrance.
(2) It is liquid at ambient temperatures.
(3) It floats on water, urine, or a mixture of water and urine.
(4) It is miscible with biocides, particularly chloro-phenol type biocides, and does not produce the foul odor when such a biocide is included.
(5) It resist being dissolved by detergents commonly used in cleaning wash rooms.
This invention provides a new composition useful as a sealing liquid for waterless urinals, a method of using this new composition to suppress odors from a waterless urinal, and an improved waterless urinal using this new composition. The new composition comprises a liquid including a biocide and a compound selected from the group consisting of
(1) branched aliphatic alcohols with C12 to C24 carbon chain lengths,
(2) a mix of the branched aliphatic alcohols and linear aliphatic alcohols with C10 to C18 carbon chain lengths,
(3) a mix of the branched aliphatic alcohols and linear aliphatic fatty acids with C14 to C18 carbon chain lengths, and
(4) a mix of the branched aliphatic alcohols, linear aliphatic alcohols with C10 to C18 carbon chain lengths, and linear aliphatic fatty acids with C14 to C18 carbon chain lengths.
The biocide is an aromatic halogen compound, preferably a chloro phenol compound such as, for example, 4-chloro-3-methylphenol. The biocide is from about 0.1 to about 5 weight percent of the liquid, preferably from 1 to 3 weight percent of the liquid.
The branched alcohols are 2-alkyl-alkanols. The preferred 2-alkyl-alkanols are selected from the group consisting of 2-butyloctanol, 2-butyldecanol, 2-hexyloctanol, 2-hexyldecanol, 2-octyldecanol, 2-hexyldodecanol, 2-octyldodecanol, and mixtures thereof. The linear alcohols are selected from the group consisting of 1-decanol, 1-dodecanol, 1-tetradecanol, and 1-hexadecanol. The linear aliphatic fatty acids are selected from the group consisting of n-dodecanoic acid, n-tetradecanoic acid, n-hexadecanoic acid, and n-octadecanoic acid.
The mix of branched alcohols, linear alcohols and linear fatty acids is as follows:
Optionally, the liquid includes a dye and a fragrance both soluble in the branched alcohols. The dye is from about 0.1 to about 1 weight percent the liquid, and preferably is a blue dye selected from the anthraquinone dye family. The fragrance is from about 0.1 to about 5 weight percent of the liquid and preferably is a lime fragrance, a lemon fragrance, a cherry fragrance, or an almond (benzoate) fragrance. A preferred blend of the dye, fragrance, and biocide comprises from about 2.5 to about 3.5 weight percent of the total weight of the liquid, preferably no more than 5 weight percent of the liquid. Preferably, the dye comprises from about 0.1 to about 0.2 weight percent of the blend, the fragrance comprises from about 1 to about 1.5 weight percent of the blend, and the biocide comprises from about 2 to about 3 weight percent of the blend.